SHARE:

Financial Services - Regulatory & Risk

On 12 July 2017, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) approved the consolidation of the operators of Cheque and Credit Clearing Company, Faster Payments and Bacs into a new payment systems operator (NPSO). This consolidation was one of the key recommendations in the PSO Delivery Group's (PSODG) Report of 4 May 2017.

The High Court has provided some clarification of the scope of the compulsory jurisdiction of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). The decision has left the scope of that jurisdiction open to discussion, and appears to suggest that the courts will take a more mechanical approach to reviewing regulatory decisions.

The FCA has released its final policy statement (PS17/14) detailing aspects of its implementation of MiFID II, including final rules and its response to the six preceding MiFID II consultation papers dating back to 2015.

The European Securities and Markets (ESMA) has announced it is considering imposing restrictions on contracts for difference (CFD) trading that would mean seismic changes for the industry, whilst the FCA has announced its serious concerns about the CFD industry's continued failure to meet expectations regarding the treatment of retail clients.

With under a year until the first Financial Action Task Force ("FATF") visit to the UK in a decade, the FCA is consulting on proposed changes to its Handbook as the new money laundering regulations ("MLR 2017") come into force today.

With continuing advances in artificial intelligence and the rise in 'robo-advisers', is financial advice following in the footsteps of chess, where computers have long since outstripped humans in ability? Are human financial advisers nearing checkmate or is the endgame still unclear?